JFHMS BANDS

Join us for the JFH Summer Band program!   We will meet in the JFH Band room 9am-1pm, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the weeks of June 14, June 21 and June 28.  We will end our summer session with a “Concert in the Park”, performed in Heritage Park (behind Francescos) on Thursday, July 1 at 7:00pm.   Rain location is the JFHMS auditorium.

Parents who are former Band members themselves are encouraged to blow the dust off of their own instruments, and join us for this fun event!  We will also have a couple of evening sessions (schedule will come home soon) for parents and students who can not attend rehearsals during the day.

Recordings of all six pieces of music we are performing on the 7th and 8th grade Band trip can be found by clicking the links below.   Listening to the music will help increase the accuracy of at home practice, especially with rhythm and style.  Listening to the Concert Band music (that Stage Band members do not play as often), is especially helpful.   Sixth grade music will be posted in a separate post.

Conflict.mp3

Digital Prisms.mp3

Outback Rhapsody.mp3

08 Riders on the Storm.m4a

InTheMood.mp3

03 Chattanooga Choo Choo.mp3

Last year we received approximately $120 from Food Lion MVP card “shop and share”.  This money comes to us automatically every quarter, as a percentage of the dollars you spend there.  All we need to get your purchases to count for BHS/JFH Band Boosters is the following:

Your Name         Your Phone #         Your Food Lion card # Please be sure to include ALL 12 DIGITS of your Food Lion number.  There are 2 small digits – one at the front and one at the end , as well as the rest of the number.

If you are already signed up, we thank you!  The web site says that we do not have to repeat the signup; it stays in effect until you want to cancel or change it. If you are not signed up yet, please send your information to Ellen McDorman at ellen_mcdorman@merck.com   and she will log it into the web site under our account.

All Band practice charts and Band projects are due the week of March 15, and NO LATER THAN March 19.  The six weeks is ending on March 19th now, due to the weather related delays and missed school days, so you have another week if you need it.    If you forget to turn it in  (or are afraid that you will forget) ….scan it and email it to Mrs. Brown, as a .pdf or .doc file       cbrown@rockingham.k12.va.us.   You will receive a reply to your email, to confirm I received and was able to open the attachment.

It is also okay to send the practice time/project  info embedded in emails, if you do not have a scanner and wish to just type an email including the student name and the time entered for each week, and be sure to include the Band project(s) too .  You will receive an email reply to confirm the info was received.   Please be sure to follow up when you return to school, by turning in the actual practice chart form (even though you emailed the info).

Other options for turning in the chart (other than the student putting it in the purple basket themselves of course!)  would be fax  540-896-6641 or USPS  JFHMS Band, 226 Hawks Hill Drive, Broadway VA 22815

VETPRACTICECHART2009

FillingOutPracticeChart

BEGPRACTICECHART2009

completeaproject

Unfortunately, the 2010 VBODA District V All District Band event was cancelled due to inclement weather.  The conductors for this event are contracted up to a year in advance, and  they conduct many other events regularly, so it is difficult to coordinate a make-up date for an event of this size.

Regardless, we are very proud of the J. Frank Hillyard Band members who auditioned and earned a seat in the 2010 District Band:

• Morgan    Miller    Flute    5
• Emilee    Blosser    Flute    6
• Olivia    Smith    Flute    9
• Corie    Burner    Bb Clarinet    23
• Cheyenne    Dennison    Bb Clarinet    24
• Jeffrey    Noble    Alto Saxophone    5
• Nate Snider, Trumpet   10
• Quintas    Mills    Snare Drum    3 (also, mallet alternate)

No word on the new date for our Honors Band event;  info will be released as soon as it is made available to the Band Directors, thanks for your patience!  At the moment, rescheduling is in the the hands of the event host, and the guest conductors.  When they have a date that works for the concert hall, and also for the guest conductors, they will come back to the local Band Directors  for membership.  We will go through the nomination sign up process again, to ensure everyone who wants to be considered for a seat in the honor band is on the list, and is available on the new event date, if they are selected.

For the March 17 “Music of WWII” concert, students have the option to dress “in character” or in their regular concert dress black and white (see below for reminders).  They may wear whichever they are more comfortable in, usually about half dress up and half wear black and white.   If students choose to dress for the 1940′s WWII theme, we ask that costumes be 1940′s fashions in general, and not necessarily specific characters.  Keeping things in good taste, we ask that there be no Hitlers. no swastikas, and no concentration camp outfits.

the following ideas might help:

Anyone can wear:

• military stuff:  Army, Navy, Airforce (was named the Army Air Corp) Marines or Coast Guard
• uniforms from any branch of the service
• camouflage
• khaki pants and long sleeve shirt, stripes for rank on sleeves, bars and medals on left pocket

Guys might prefer:  http://mens-fashion.lovetoknow.com/Mens_Fashion_in_the_1940%27s

• Suits with bright colored ties, suspenders, fedora hats (just for you Brandon!), longer jackets and wider, high cut pants
• Zoot suits  (like the yellow suit in the Jim Carey movie  “the Mask”)

Ladies might try:  http://www.1940s-fashions.co.uk/allfashions.htm

• dresses with flared skirts, peplums or belts  (a puffed up skirt is better), closed toe and heel pumps (granny shoes with pointy toes)  white gloves, pearls, hats.    Think “I Love Lucy” and you will be pretty close. OR….
• go  “Rosie the Riveter” style, and wear blue coveralls with sleeves rolled up, red bandana on your head–look tough!    )

BLACK AND WHITE CONCERT CLOTHES REMINDERS:
All formal Concerts performed by the J. Frank Hillyard Bands, require the attendance of all Band Members.  All members must be properly dressed in black and white “Concert Dress”.  Girls may choose to wear pants or longer skirts–no short skirts on stage (your knees are at eye level on stage!)

Concert Dress for 6th/7th/8th grade:
White polo shirt–short sleeved with Band logo on front left chest.  We will take orders for Band shirts and they will cost approx. $10.00 cash, or we can use trip account/fundraiser money to pay for your shirt.  Again–you can order and pay cash or check (checks to JFH), or you can do fundraisers and get your shirt for free.

Black Dress Pants–No Jeans please,  No hip huggers, low riders, or “skater” pants

Black Skirt– knee length or longer, no mini skirts–stage level is eye level!

Black socks or Black hose–no white socks please!

Black Shoes–no tennis shoes or sneakers, appropriate sandals only (no flip flops, no lights, no heelies)

Clothes are available in the Band room  “used clothes closet”, if you have outgrown yours – donations are appreciated also, as you grow!  You may “trade in” your clothes for some that fit, or purchase pants for $3.00 and shoes for $3.00, first come first served, size selections are limited.  All students will have the chance to earn a free (new) Band shirt through fundraisers, or shirts can be purchased for $10.00.  WE ARE HAPPY TO HELP YOU COME UP WITH CONCERT CLOTHES, BUT PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF THE CONCERT TO ASK FOR HELP!!  Sixth graders will be fitted later this week, if they need to use our clothes closet.

Just a reminder…

All Band members are expected to attend the December 9, March 17 and May 5 concerts.  If for some reason a Band member can not attend an event that all Band members are expected to attend, here are the options:

If you know at least one week before the event – The student can write a note to Mrs. Brown (examples: family trip, planned surgery, grandma’s 100th bday party)
“(full name), can not attend (event), because (REASON)”.  signed by Band member
In the vast majority of cases, this is an excused absence.  Mrs. Brown will deal with each situation one by one, and will work with the student and the parent to ensure that communication is not an issue.

Unplanned absence, within 3 school days after the event – The parent must write a note to Mrs. Brown  (examples:  illness,   car accident,  family emergency)
“(full name), could not attend (event), because (REASON)”. signed by parent
In the majority of cases, this is an excused absence.

Mrs. Brown will work with students regarding unavoidable situations, but “I am getting a haircut that night”, “I forgot about the concert”, “I didn’t know when the concert was”, and “I didn’t have a ride” are not excusable reasons.    Students who are absent from school due to illness, are excused from the concert if it is held later that day.

Some things do happen at the last minute, such as a flat tire, illness etc, so TURN IN A NOTE signed by a parent,  and then your grade will not be significantly affected if the excuse is reasonable.  If you don’t turn in a written reason for missing a required performance, your grade will be lowered by 20 points, and you will significantly lower your six weeks grade.
Car pooling can be worked out for you if we know in advance that there will be a transportation problem because of a work schedule etc. Please plan carefully so you and your family can enjoy the feeling of accomplishment and pride as we perform on stage.  We are all part of a team, and everyone must cover their musical part to present a superior performance.  This is especially important for smaller groups, like Stage Band and Pep Band.

District Band (7/8) Auditions are held the second Saturday in December.  Membership in this event is a very prestigious honor, and must be earned through a very competitive audition.  The auditions are held in classrooms with the judges behind screens, out of sight (blind audition–you don’t see the judges, and the judges don’t see you).  JFH Band playing tests model the District audition, which includes 2  major scales (out of a possible 7 required for middle school), the chromatic scale, a prepared piece and a sight reading.  It is a great accomplishment to win a spot in the All District Band, an event which takes place the first weekend in February.  Participants will attend rehearsals all day long on the first Friday and Saturday in February, missing one day of classes to attend rehearsals.  The event ends with a concert on Saturday afternoon.  All 7th and 8th grade Band members are eligible to audition, and every student has already received a copy of the “District Band Audition Sheet” to help them prepare.  In some cases a 6th grade Band member may be considered for an audition, if they study private lessons regularly and are well prepared.  All students planning to audition MUST receive approval from the instructor and work hard to prepare for the audition.  Additional copies of the scale sheet for each instrument, and copies of the prepared peices are available through the link below.  Be careful to select the MS (middle school) version of the files, as well as the correct file for your instrument.

http://www.augusta.k12.va.us/7056208412477560

Congratulations to the BHS Marching Band for their outstanding performances throughout the 2009 Marching Band season.    At the JMU Parade of Champions (the largest competition of the season), out of 17 bands who performed in their class, BHS took second place overall and had the highest ensemble music score.  They did this while being the only band of the morning to perform in the pouring rain and crazy wind (monsoon?).   At the State Marching Band Festival event,  BHS concluded their season with what was numerically very close to a perfect performance.  There were 5 judges, each with 5 categories to score;  BHS received a perfect score, (a grade  I  “SUPERIOR”) in 24 out of the 25 categories–phenominal!    This has now put BHS in the running to earn the title “Virginia Honor Band”, which will happen if they can earn another SUPERIOR in March, at the VBODA Concert Festival event.

A special congratulations to Rachel Smith who made All State Jazz Ensemble.  The All State Jazz Ensemble is made up of 23 of the finest jazz musicians from across the state.  We are proud that Rachel has been recognized as one of them.  Congratulations Rachel!

Musically,

Ben Frenchak
Director of Bands
Head Boys Soccer Coach
Broadway High School

“Music expresses that which cannot be said
and on which it is impossible to be silent”
~Victor Hugo

“The first step toward creating an improved future is developing the ability to envision it.  Vision will ignite the fire of passion that fuels our commitment to do Whatever it takes to achieve excellence.”
~Tony Dungy

AHHHCHOOO!!!!!
As we head further into a nasty cold and flu season, please encourage your Band members to COVER IT (mouth during sneeze/cough, aim into your ELBOW) WIPE IT (nose with a tissue) and WASH THEM (hands).  We are especially prone to passing colds back and forth in the Band room by the very nature of what we do–blowing air into the room and putting our mouths on instruments–not to mention the spit issue.  If you do get a cold/flu, go ahead and wash only the mouthpieces with warm soapy water,  (NOT HOT, WOODWINDS–clarinet/sax plastic will MELT–I have seen this happen before when only the best of intentions were intended)  and sterilize reeds with alcohol.  Throw reeds away if you are diagnosed with Strep–they are made of wood, and can hold the germs.

Remember….DO NOT LEAVE REEDS ON MOUTHPIECES when you put the instruments away each after playing, all kinds of lovely green stuff grows on them when a reed can not dry out properly.  This green stuff is basically, mold and mildew.  So in other words, using a moldy reed is giving you the same germs and potential for illness as licking your bath tub drain.  Unfortunately, leaving reeds on mouthpieces is common practice in middle school–YUCK!!!  Please look into reed holders, they are well worth the cost;  you can get a less expensive reed holder for under $8, and they can help reeds to last longer by allowing them to dry out after use, and by making them dry flat instead of warping and rippling as they dry.

Click here Band master cal for 0910 to view the full calendar for the JFHMS Band program for this school year.   This is subject to change, but dates will (for the most part) remain as posted.    THE BAND ROOM DOOR

The Band room has it’s own outside door, allowing for well supervised parent pick up and easy entrance to the music department for after school Band activities.  The Band room door is located on the rear of our building, just past the cafeteria.  Drive around the flag pole end of JFH to the back parking lot; pass the dumpsters and the covered loading area with two green doors on your right (these go into the cafeteria).  The Band room door is the next door, and has a small patch of grass at the bottom of the steps, and a short sidewalk leading up to it.  If you pass the greenhouse on your left, you went too far.  Band members are to be picked up from the Band room door following all Band activities, please do not encourage students to use other doors after Band activities, for their own safety.  Pleasenote, Mrs. Brown has to pick up her own kids from the sitter by 5:30, so Band members  will relocate from the Band room door, to the main front door of the building, if rides have not picked them up by 5:15.  This way everyone is supervised and has access to a phone, while waiting inside the building.

There are three formal concerts that all Band members in all grade levels must attend, as part of the grade students earn in Band.  Search a related article titled black and white for details about concert clothing.  Mark your calendars now, the required Concerts are:

Wednesday, December 9 (Come and get into the holiday spirit with your Band family!)

Wednesday, March 17 (combined concert with the JFH Choir, celebrating Music In Our School Month, with the music of World War II)

Wednesday, May 5 (Band Spring Awards Concert)

Broadway High School Fine Arts Department
invites you to
Falling Into Fine Arts:
A Celebration of the Arts.
Come and celebrate our students and their accomplishments
as they share their talents in band, choir, art, and drama.
Tuesday, November 17
Broadway High School Auditorium
7 p.m.
This is a free event.

Contact BHS Band Director Ben Frenchak, with any questions you may have regarding ths event.

bfrenchak@rockingham.k12.va.us     BHS 896-7081

THE BAND ROOM DOOR
The Band room has it’s own outside door, allowing for well supervised parent pick up and easy entrance to the music department for after school Band activities.  The Band room door is located on the rear of our building, just past the cafeteria.  Drive around the flag pole end of JFH to the back parking lot; pass the dumpsters and the covered loading area with two green doors on your right (these go into the cafeteria).  The Band room door is the next door, and has a small patch of grass at the bottom of the steps, and a short sidewalk leading up to it.  If you pass the greenhouse on your left, you went too far.  Band members are to be picked up from the Band room door following all Band activities, please do not encourage students to use other doors after Band activities, this is for their own safety.

Mrs. Brown does need ot pick up her girls from the sitter by 5:30, so if you are unable to pick up your child by 5:15, they will relocate to the front door of our building (near the library and main office).  There is a teacher working in the library each day until 6:30pm;  by staying in the main front lobby to wait for parents, they will have access to a teacher, a phone, and will be inside the building but able to see cars as they arrive.  Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Congratulations to the members of the Stage Band on two great performances (otherwise known in the jazz world as “gigs”) over the weekend.  The group kicked off it’s “winter tour”, with 5 tunes that featured eight different members on solos–FANTASTIC!   We premiered the 2009 Stage Band at Barnes and Noble Bookstore on Friday evening, at a bookfair event being held to benefit the Rockingham Educational Foundation (REFI).  The JFH Band played a major role in getting the Dovel Music Scholarship established through the REFI program last year, so we were pleased to be invited to play for this event to help out REFI.

Our second performance was part of the “Peach Party” benefit, along with the BHS Jazz Ensemble, and local community jazz group Just Jazzin’.  The Peach Party was held to help primarily with travel costs for the BHS Band traveling to Atlanta over Christmas Break; the BHS Marching Band has been invited to perform in the PEACH BOWL half time show over New Years–WOW!  Money raised at this event, through concessions and a free will offering, will also go toward buses for the JFH Band trip to Busch Gardens in May.  This performance was even more successful for our Stage Band than Friday evening’s gig, with a larger audience, better acoustics and a lot more confidence in evidence among the performers–way to go guys!

The Stage Band travels to “Jazz in the Middle” on Wednesday, to perform for other local middle school groups, and to clinic on stage with JMU Jazz Ensemble Director, Chuck Dotas.   We would like to thank Crystal, Phillip, Matt and Megan, for sitting in with us, to help us prepare mentally for our upcoming performances.   (Hey Stage Band—”Dude, uh, where’s the trailer?” )   Yes, we got towed Friday night, and NO, we were NOT parked where we were not supposed to be parked; the towing company just thought they saw a money making opportunity as they drove by.  Luckily, they did release the truck and trailer free of charge, but only after some smooth talking from B&N manager Mr. Finn, and Band Booster president Mr. Eckard.  Thanks so much to these gentlemen for their patience and smooth talking, it made all the difference in how things worked out in our favor.  We also really appreciate everyone who hung around the extra hour to help load equipment (once we had something to load INTO) that is true teamwork, which is what we are all about.    We are only as strong as WE make ourselves, and team work is a huge part of that.  We are off to a fantastic start!

Congrats to 8th graders on a great performance at the BHS game Friday night!  BE PROUD!!!

****************************************************************************
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the band boosters will be sponsoring a concession
stand at Bowman Auctions.  Paula Ford is the chairperson for this event.
There could potentially be a large crowd (3-400 people) and so this could
be a great money maker for us.  In order to keep costs down, here are
items that we are asking to be donated:

Hamburger Buns ( We need 19 packs of 8.  They’re $.88 at Kroger)
Hot dog Buns  ( We need 12 packs of
Bananas
Pop in cans:  Dr. Pepper, Dt. Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Mtn. Dew, Coke & Dt. Coke
500 ml bottles of water  ( we need 4 cases of 24)
Non-glazed do-nuts
Microwave Popcorn
All kinds of cookies, brownies, etc. ( prebagged please)
Individual bagged chips?
Ketchup
Mustard
Relish
Sugar packets
Sweetner packets
Creamer
Coffee
Hot Chocolate Packets

It you can donate any of the above items, please contact Paula directly.
Her e-mail address is paulasueford@yahoo.com.  And, please have all
donated items to the school by Wednesday, Oct. 14, so that Paula knows
exactly what she has, and what she needs to buy.

Thanks again for your support of the band boosters!

Trish Eckard, co-president

************************************************
Patricia S. Eckard
Department of Business and Economics
Office Coordinator
(540) 432-4150
(540) 432-4071 (fax)
eckardp@emu.edu

REHEARSAL    Wednesday Oct 7– at BHS,  parent pick up by 5pm

REHEARSAL/PERFORMANCE    FRIDAY, Oct 9 at BHS  (teacher workday)  3pm-9:45pm

•    Be at BHS by 3pm with instruments and music, come prepared to stay through the end of the ball game;  parent pick up at BHS at the end of the football game (approx 9:45).
•    Wear jeans and tennis shoes with school colors, or JFH or BHS sweatshirts etc.  BRING JACKETS and blankets to sit on/wrap up in, and (if you have one) Pep Band folders and music lyres;  borrow if you don’t own your own lyre and flip folder)
•    We will rehearse from 3pm-5:30,   then we will eat hot dogs for supper (you already told me if you were packing)
•    We will march into the stadium at approx 7pm,  to perform with the BHS Band on the field
“BHS cheer” (scatter drill you will learn on Oct 7).
“Across the Field” fight song, as team enters stadium
“Star Spangled Banner” national anthem
•    We will leave the field to sit in the Band seats on the track for the game;  we will play whenever we can.
Lots of the BHS Pep Band music is the same as ours, bring your Pep Band folder if you have one
We will play the fight song at every touchdown (Across the Field).

After we watch the BHS Band march their show at halftime, you have the third quarter of the game free to walk around, visit the concession stand, go potty etc.  Return to the Band seats on the track no later than ’1 minute left to go’ in the 3rd quarter, so we can play as the 4th quarter starts.

The game is usually over between 9:30-9:45 pm, parents can meet you in the BHS Band room when we return to pack up.  We will not be able to run back and forth between the stadium and the Band room–you need to take everything you need for the game (coats, money, extra reeds, valve oil etc.) into the game with you, when we enter the stadium at 7pm.   Anyone who has to leave before the end of the game needs to make prior arrangments with the Directors, and store EVERYTHING (including your instrument case) in your car or carry it into the stadium with you at 7pm.  The Band room door will remain locked until the end of the ball game.

In the event of rain, we may shorten or cancel the plans for the evening.  Right now the forecast looks great, but it will be in the low 50′s by the end of the ball game–jackets or sweatshirts are important!  Metal bleachers are cold to sit on, so blankets help too.  (There are not enough seat covers the BHS Band uses, for all the JFH kids too).  We ask that only JFH and BHS Band members be on the track or in the Band seats please.

Did you know that you can listen to a lot of the music we play in class by going to  our music distributor’s website?   Click on http://www.jwpepper.com and enter Pink Panther Remix in the title search box.    Find the title in the list that comes up, and click on the option to hear an MP3 recording of the tune you started working on Monday.     Listen to the recording while you look at your sheet music–then try to play it!  We will do this together in class Wednesday morning.

You can also find many performances of titles we play on youtube (remember to always check with parents first, before going to youtube!).  Some are professional quality and military Bands, and some performances are high school and middle school Bands.   Go to youtube and enter “the name of the song you are looking for” into the search window–using quotation marks helps narrow the search so the words always appear in that order, not just randomly in the result.   You can also put  “song title” middle school as  search, to specifically find a performance in a group with the same background as ours.  See if you can find some of the music we play!    You may even find a couple of Broadway High School Band performances on youtube!

Shen Valley Band 434-8546
Shen Valley Band will deliver anything you need for your instrument to JFH for you, on Mondays each week.  Call the store, pay by phone and make sure they know the student’s first and last name and JFHMS.

REEDS and SUPPLIES Everyone should have cleaning rags/rods/brushes as recommended for your instrument—AND USE THEM!!!  Reed players should have three GOOD reeds in their cases at all times, along with their own tube of cork grease;  A reed case is one of the best things you spend your money on–$5 and you have storage for your reeds that will make them PLAY BETTER AND LAST LONGER. Names on all everything please!

METHOD BOOK—Concert Band will use the same book as last year, so please find yours (or replace your copy)  Stage Band needs a different book (see below).  Brass and Woodwind players may also wish to purchase “Essential Elements 2000 book .  Book #2 is not a required purchase at this time, but it is great if you are really looking for a challenge and want to really work on your musicianship.

STAGE BAND will use the book  “Essential Elements – Jazz”  –we can place a group order when school starts, and we already have some new books in the Band room that you can buy, to save a trip to town.  You also should start listening to EVERY jazz recording that you can find…..Jazz is all about style.  You can’t play it with the right style  if you don’t know what it’s supposed to soud like.

SAXES should own their own neck straps, (or shoulder harnesses—kind of like back pack straps), including tenor and bari players who are using school horns.

BRASS PLAYERS need their own bottle of valve oil and a container of slide grease — if you will be using a JFH instrument (like baritone or tuba) you are still expected to own your own care supplies.

PERCUSSIONISTS need their own pair of SD#1 General drumsticks and a bell kit to practice on at home (the bell kit does not need to come to school this year, but YOU WILL NEED A BELL KIT AT HOME—please rent or purchase one, if you do not already own one).  You may want to search for “bell kit” online, (try search engine  Froogle) to find bell kits very reasonably priced (under $100).   There is not a huge difference in quality that young players would notice, among bell kits.